Access Board News

The inability to use one’s wheelchair on airplanes makes air travel very difficult, if not impossible, for many people with disabilities. It requires multiple transfers between boarding chairs and aircraft seats, posing injury risks. Airline seats are a poor alternative to personal wheelchairs which are typically customized for the user’s safety . . .

In 2017, the Access Board received a complaint about the accessibility of the Canyon Dam’s service road. Created by construction of the Canyon Dam on the Guadalupe River, Canyon lake and surrounding parkland is a favorite site for swimming, boating, fishing, as well as camping and hiking. A prized feature is a service road atop the dam that is also enjoyed by many in the area as a scenic walkway. The Board opened an investigation with . . .

The Access Board Board has released for public comment advisory guidelines for wheelchairs used on commercial passenger aircraft during flight. These onboard wheelchairs are provided by air carriers as a means of facilitating the transfer of passengers with disabilities to aircraft lavatories since personal wheelchairs cannot be used in the cabin. The Department of Transportation (DOT) has expressed its intention to supplement its . . .

The Access Board will hold a town hall meeting in Indianapolis on the afternoon of May 21 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The event will provide an open forum where members of the public can pose questions to the Board or share comments or concerns about accessibility for people with disabilities. There also will be panel . . .

The Access Board unanimously elected Board Member Karen Tamley as its new Chair on March 13. Tamley, who completed a term as Board Vice Chair, has served . . .

The General Services Administration (GSA) has improved access to the Joel W. Solomon Federal Building and United States Court House in Chattanooga, Tennessee in response to a complaint filed with the Board under the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA). Completed in 1933, the historic building is a notable example of the . . .

As President, George H.W. Bush enacted the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, a landmark law that bans discrimination on the basis of disability and treats accessibility for people with disabilities as a civil right. He considered the ADA one of his proudest achievements as President and made its implementation a priority of his administration. The ADA serves as one of the most enduring legacies of his presidency and his long career in public service. Read the full text of . . .

The Access Board was created in part to enforce the first federal law to address accessibility, the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) of 1968. This law requires access . . .

On September 6, the Access Board held a day-long public forum on accessibility of assembly areas. The event brought together experts on the subject and various stakeholders to advise the Board on how to explain and clarify requirements in the ADA Standards in a technical guide it plans to develop on the subject. Accessibility consultants, people with disabilities, architects and designers, engineers, and facility operators participated in the meeting. Attendees included representatives from the Hearing Loss Association of America and . . .

On November 13, the U.S. Access Board held a day-long workshop comparing how building accessibility is addressed in Australia and the U.S. It featured . . .